The Betsileo people speak a dialect of Malagasy named the Merina. This language was derived from the Barito language that was spoken in southern Borneo. Everyone in Madagascar speak some sort of dialect of the language Malagasy. The special dialect used by the Betsileo people is very unique to their group. The language only shares 21 letters with the English alphabet. When it comes to writing, it is very different then from how the language is spoken. Actually, Malagasy was not a written language until 1820.
Nowadays, the language is still not practiced a lot through writing. People pass information about history through verbal language more than anything else. Reports have found that 62% of the population is literate to this language. The language is now in a state of development as people are using it more and more to communicate verbally together.
Joshua Project
Betsileo in Madagascar. Electronic Document, http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/10818/MA, accessed March 25, 2015.
Nowadays, the language is still not practiced a lot through writing. People pass information about history through verbal language more than anything else. Reports have found that 62% of the population is literate to this language. The language is now in a state of development as people are using it more and more to communicate verbally together.
Joshua Project
Betsileo in Madagascar. Electronic Document, http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/10818/MA, accessed March 25, 2015.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Betsileo People. Electronic Document, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/63532/Betsileo accessed March 25, 2015.
Betsileo People. Electronic Document, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/63532/Betsileo accessed March 25, 2015.
I think that it is very interesting to learn about other peoples languages. Every country has multiple dialects of a language and it is always nice to learn about these knew languages that i never even knew existed. I was born and raised in Morocco and i can somehow relate to the language changes of the Betsileo people. In Morocco, we speak Arabic, French, Spanish, and English. Arabic being our first language. The city were i grew up, i was taught a dialect of Arabic that people from other Arab countries would not understand. I find it fascinating that from one general language you can create multiple dialects that are unique to your environment.
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